Thinker | Traveller | Writer | Scientist | Skincare Enthusiast

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moisturising

Yes, our favorite time of year. And the countdown to Christmas has begun.

Whilst we plan our vacations, attend Christmas parties, sip mulled wine or vin chaud in beautifully dimly lit cafes with all our festive feels – lets spare a thought for all Santa’s little elves. Buzzing around, working overtime. And to the postal workers world over recovering from Black Friday – (happy thanksgiving to you!). And, of course, to us. Living our lives, working hard and generally under much more end of year work/school/life related stresses than our Instagram posts would care to reflect. (Except if you’re a ‘studyspo’ ‘grammer. If so, all the best to you. Much respect. And happy procrastinating.)

If you live in the northern hemisphere as I currently do – you may be reading this wrapped up indoors. The winter is a trying time for our skin. And this applies to our acne prone friends too. As a member of this group – let’s just try to take advantage of the popularity of the ‘dewy’ look. As our skin competes with the glimmer of our lovely Christmas party dresses.

There is no way around it. The cold weather lends itself to extra dryness in our dry areas, and, oftentimes, to what may look like the sudden appearance of fine lines – creases in your foundation, if you are that way inclined.

All of this can be remedied. Wash your face at night and pay particular attention to making sure you are using a toner. Be sure to use the right serum for you (a discussion for another post.)

Then, be sure to moisturize your skin very well at night. Give your skin the opportunity to be rehydrated at night so that when you are exposed to the elements again, likely in the morning, you have already done the pre-prep and thus avoid having to do so to the same extent in the daytime – and risk looking like a kid who has slathered their face in Vaseline.

DRY SKIN:

If you have dry skin or combination-dry (most all combinations lean one way or the other) make sure to moisturize heavily at night and during the day. You have more liberty here. Skip the mattifying primer. If you are happy with Hyaluronic acid based products – use an HA product at night too to lend more moisture. Retinols are also your friend. See where the ‘lines’ start to appear and be sure to use your retinol product in these areas. Its not a quick fix – more of a future investment. If you’re new – start with a 0.3 concentration and see how your skin responds. What we are trying to avoid is allowing our skin to become so dehydrated that we cause the appearance of fine lines or even peeling – dear oh dear. Ashy face. Imagine that.

OILY SKIN:

Isn’t it amazing? It’s THIS cold and our skin still finds the abilty to shine – shine bright like a diamond – except not like a diamond. In that weird ‘stuck on’ dry sheen, unblottable way.

Let your skin start getting used to a basic, water based moisturizer. Particularly at night. Your skin will start to regulate its sebum production. Wash your face at night with something milder than what you use when it is humid or in hot weather. It will do the trick and you will not strip your face entirely. Unless you are incredibly sure – try not to skip moisturizing. I did this for years. And I had to learn better.

Wear SPF!!! ❤️

Just because we don’t always see the sun, doesn’t mean it isn’t still there J

Winter is not the time to abandon ALL of our good skincare habits. Just some of them. (Kidding.)

If you wear a dry, mattifying SPF product, you may want to start mixing this with a moisturizer or use a product that is less dry. This will make sure that your skin is still protected all winter without giving you ‘stiff face’ which in my case, only serves to enhance my RBF and can give you the appearance of brand new smile lines when you finally reveal your beautiful laugh.

If you are acne prone, I highly recommend using non-comedogenic products in general. No matter what your skin type, however, if you are applying make-up, be sure to put moisturizer on your face first. Then go away and make a nice cup of tea. Or something. Give your skin a chance to absorb your moisturizer first. Don’t stop exfoliating occasionally to keep your skin from starting to look dull. Ideally, we will maintain a similar rate of turnover to what your skin is used to, just making sure not to act in a way that will make your skin *appear* not to be producing natural moisture in the best way possible.

On an unrelated note. My hands get so dry its ridiculous. They are literally peeling as I type this. Ugggh.

Routine!

I have said this waaay too many times. But I can’t stress it enough. It was consistent, relentless routine that brought me out of that dry, ashy, acne riddled place. And it is routine that is the key to success in virtually every area of your skin and life. Routine is like persistence. For your face.

So keep doing all the good stuff. And do it day and night. Don’t beat yourself up for missing a day, or a night. But put in the time. This will help you in the long run.

Tap your face.

I talked about this in the original post and I’m almost embarrassed to write this (again). I don’t know how to phrase this so it doesn’t sound utterly ridiculous. I think I started doing this myself and my aesthetician confirmed that this is an excellent technique to use.

Once you have applied your serum/s – wait no longer than a minute and just gently run your fingers across your face in a tapping motion. Forehead, cheeks, chin, nose, around the mouth. What this does is stimulate blood flow to the skin. Not only will your skin appear temporarily more oxygenated, but this stimutes blood flow to the dermis. This is beneficial in many ways – it can also aid in increasing collagen production which could potentially keep fine lines at bay in the long run.

Enjoy your face!

WINTER IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO WEAR MAKE UP!

At least I feel so, as we don’t become all sweaty etc. In fact, I rarely wear it in the summer. However, as I mentioned before, I personally avoid using a setting powder because I feel that this can just give your skin a dryer, less smooth texture as the day progresses. I only use a setting powder when it is humid or hot.

Enjoy a hot bath from time to time, treat yourself. Wear a moisturizing mask and keep your skin clean and hydrated. I aim to treat my skin once a week in the winter (ambitious – more like twice a month – que sera sera) Let it glow and shine from within. Exposure to the elements is virtually impossible. But these simple additions may help you maintain beautiful skin all through the festive period, its parties and nighttime occasions.

Let me know if you would like to know what products I use and recommend!